Shadow Guard
by D.D. Heal
Summary: Six villains, all of them have one thing in common: they're the Shadow Guard. A lone government agent hire these six villains. In exchange, these villains will get a pardon and their criminal records wiped clean. The catch, they must complete a series of missions in order for them to earn their freedom.
1. Chapter 1

One

Along These Silent Walls

The abandoned prison was quiet as Janet Moss-Page read the surveillance report. She puts the report down on her desk. "So, Winston has been travelling between parallel universes. Did the surveillance team pick anything else up?" she asked.

"No, it's been quiet for the last few weeks. I guess the Dark God incident must've got him spooked if he's not revealing any secrets," the army colonel said.

"Interesting, Eli has his Guardians, while I have the Shadow Guard. Begin the recruitment drive. First, head to the Plumber Deportation Centre, there's a prisoner that needs to be released," she said.

She gives him a dossier and he reads it. "According to out intel, the guy is currently depowered," he said.

"Which is why I went through the trouble to acquire the Chaos Amulet," she said.

"I see, do you think it'll work?" he asked.

"It'll work, trust me," she said.

The colonel leaves the prison, gets into his car and drives over to the Plumber Deportation Centre. At the centre, I walked up the line and a Plumber gets my file out and reads it. "All right, let's see. You must be Michael Morningstar; my superiors did mention you were coming. According to the scanners, you're currently depowered," the Plumber said.

"The information you got there must be outdated," I said.

"Uh-huh, it says you committed multiple offences, from raising the dead, theft and fraud. You're currently scheduled to be deported to the Null Void. You'll resume your current prison sentence there. Have a nice trip." The phone rang and he answers. "Hello? Oh hi sir. Is there a problem? Oh I see, I'll tell him." He puts the phone. "There's someone who wants to talk to you. Head up to the manager's office, he'll meet you there," he said.

I left the queue and headed upstairs to the manager's office. I entered the manager's office to find a army colonel sitting at the desk. "You're not the manager," I said.

"What was your first clue? I'm clearly not a Plumber. I've spoken to the manager, the warden at the prison you were supposed to be heading to about your situation. Release him," he ordered.

The manager removes the handcuffs. "You're being released. Normally I won't be too thrilled about it, but my hands are tied behind my back about this," the manager said.

"Here." He places holdall on the desk. "There's a set of clothes in there. You don't want to walk around in prison garbs. Get dressed and meet me in the parking lot. I'll explain everything," he said.

Minutes later, I walked out of the building, I got into the car and we drove to the prison. "You haven't explained who you are and what you want or at least your name?" I said.

"My name is Col. Jeremy Springfield," he answered.

"Springfield, I've heard of you. You spent three years in al-Qaeda prison camp. During your time, you were able to gathered key intel regarding targets and sleeper agents," I said.

"True and true, but it also made me a target. I was lucky to get transferred to a project which my boss is currently recruiting. And you're the first recruit," he said.

"What is this project you're working on?" I asked.

"You've seen the news lately about the Guardians. Well, that's what we're aiming, except we're recruiting super villains. My boss can explain all the details once we arrive at the Old Bellwood Penitentiary," Jeremy said.

"Wasn't the penitentiary destroyed in a fire back in 1976?" I asked.

"It did, but it's safe enough to use as a base of operations. Tell me, how was your last meal before arriving at the deportation centre?" he asked.

"That steak was delicious. I haven't had anything good like that in a long time." I then realise what's going. "What did you put in the steak?" I asked.

"An insertion of nanites. It's an insurance policy we arranged to keep you lot in line. If you as much step out of line, we'll trigger the nanites and you'll be dead in a matter of seconds. We're here," he answered.

We entered the prison and got out of the car. We entered the main cell block and I met Jeremy's boss. "You look a lot like Eli Jamieson Moss," I said.

"I'm his twin sister, Michael. I'm Janet Moss-Page and welcome to the Shadow Guard," she said.

"I don't any of the other team members," I said.

"You'll meet them eventually." We heard a truck entering the prison. "I guess that must be Len Cho," Len enters the prison as the truck leaves the area. "Michael, meet Len Cho. He's one of the world's deadliest assassins," she said.

"If this is your idea of a joke, lady, you got another thing coming," Len said.

She twists his right arm. "First, show some respect for the woman who arranged your early release. Second, I have a name, its Janet Moss-Page and don't you forget it. And third, if you as much as speak to me in that tone of voice again, I'll have Alexi activate the nanites in your body," she said.

"All right, let me go, please," Len said.

She lets go. "At least you have some manners. Alexi, how are we doing with the Universal Gate assembly?" she asked.

"It's not easy as I thought it would be. I need a top of the line engineer who knows astrophysics and quantum mechanics," Alexi said.

"Oh, this is Alexi, he'll be the team's technician and gadget man," she said.

"And I'm also the one who designed the nanites," he said.

"That's comforting," Len said sarcastically.

A group of mercenaries enter the prison and bring in a stasis chamber. "Ah, I see team member number three has arrived. What's with the bullet holes?" she asked.

"Sorry, the prison received the paperwork after the chamber left the prison. We had to ambush them on the roadside to secure the chamber and there was a misunderstanding. Hence the bullet holes," the mercenary leader answered.

Alexi walks over to the chamber and inspects it. "Hmm, the outer hull hasn't been breached and her vital signs are stable," he said.

"Open it," she ordered.

Alexi opens the stasis chamber and Elena Validus comes out of the chamber. She's gone on the offensive. "Simmer down, kiddo. We're not here to fight," Janet said.

"This is not the Outreach Facility?" Elena asked.

"No, I've arranged to have you released so you can join our little team," she answered.

"What team would that be?" Elena asked.

"The Shadow Guard, by working for me. You lot get a full pardon and your criminal records will be expunged," Janet answered.

"Wow, at least that answers that question," Len said.

"It does, Alexi, bring Elena up to speed. Who knows, she may help you get the Universal Gate," she said.

Alexi shows Elena around, Janet's cell phone rang and she answers it. "Hello? Oh hey, we better discuss in the warden's office," she said.

She leaves the cell block and heads into the warden's office. "Where do I fit into this team? Both you and Len are the expert sharpshooters and Elena is the tech head," I said.

"That's easy, with this." Jeremy shows him the Chaos Amulet. "The Chaos Amulet allows anyone to become the Chaos Mage, the opposite of Dr. Nexus. Only it's powered from chaos magic. Janet meant for you to have it since you don't have your powers anymore," he answered.

Jeremy gives me the Chaos Amulet and I transformed into the Chaos Mage. "This user is worthy to possess the Chaos Amulet. It's been years since it had a user who understands magic. He will do," the Chaos Mage said.

Janet leaves the office and she is disappointed. "Is something wrong?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, it could've gone better. Both the government, the Plumber Corp and the Galvans have said no," she answered.

"This could complicate things," he said

"Who're we talking about?" Len asked.

"There's a recruit I'm after. Like you lot, I had to call in some favours and broke a lot of deals to get you lot out. I was hoping they would play ball, but they wouldn't. I wasn't hoping it would come to this, but I have no choice. Michael, Len, I'm sending you on a mission," she answered.

"What kind of mission?" I asked.

"Prison break," she answered.

"You got to be kidding me? You're sending us to break someone out of prison?" Len asked.

"I am. It's for the mission briefing. Your target is Albedo," she answered.

She places a tablet PC on the table with the mission details. Len picks it up, reads it and is surprised. "This has got to be a mistake. We're busting Ben 10 out of prison," Len said.

Len passes the table over to me. "He's different," I said.

"That's because it's not his true from. He's actually a Galvan, a former assistant to Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix and someone with a score to settle with Ben. His intellect and access to any Omnitrix blueprint will be vital to the team," she said.

"So where's he incarcerated?" Jeremy asked.

"St. Bastions, he's currently waiting to be deported to the Null Void," she answered.

"Isn't that the super villain prison that's been recently opened? The one Special Projects have said to be escape proof and break-in proof?" Len asked.

"That's the one. The prison is armed with the latest security countermeasures, courtesy of Mason Industries. It has six levels, with the bottom three reserved for super powered criminal criminals," she said.

"Our best guess is Albedo is in one of the bottom three levels. Getting through the main gate should be cakewalk. Getting down is going to be a challenge," Jeremy said.

"What we need is to find a alternative way in. Isn't the prison connected to a sewer line or something?" Len asked.

"Doubtful because the schematics say the prison has its own water supply which is monitored at all times," I said.

"It's most likely to prevent water based villains from breaking out. It looks like we're going through the front," Jeremy said.

Sometime later outside St. Bastions, we drove a truck up to the prison gates when the guards stopped us. "Sorry, its standard procedure, we got to check your vehicle. What's inside?" the guard asked.

"Some supplies, including toiletries, cleaning material and other supplies," he answered.

The other guard gets a scanner out, scans the truck and the results are positive. "He's telling the truth. You may proceed," the other guard said.

We drove into the prison and parked the truck around the back. We got out and snuck into the prison and we head into the control room. Jeremy sits down at the console and plugs a USB key into the port. "Alexi, I've plugged the key into the port. Get ready," he said.

"Okay, I'm getting the data now. Got it, Albedo is being held in cell B2-06. The area is secured tight, whatever you're going to do, think carefully," Alexi said over the radio.

"Thanks, let's move," he said. We made our way to the cell. Over on level B1, Argit is being escorted to the deportation room.

"Remind me, who's the midget again?" the guard asked.

"Argit, the man makes me sick. He's got fourteen arrest warrants. All of them for fraud and war profiteering," the other guard said.

"War profiteering, are they really charging me with war profiteering?" Argit asked.

"The incident involving selling weapons to the red and blue teams says otherwise. We're almost at the deportation room. Hopefully we should send this guy to the Null Void." We encountered the guards and they recognised us. "Morningstar, Cho? Hold it right there," he said.

Len gets his bow out and takes both the guards out using a trick arrow. "Hello Argit," Len said.

"Long time, no see, Len. You're still not mad about the Bangkok job?" he asked.

"More than that, we need your help. We're looking for a prisoner, he's a Ben Tennyson lookalike," Len said.

"Oh yeah, I know that guy. Albedo, he's being held on a level below us. Getting to him is going to be a problem. This level is patrolled by light security. Levels B2 and B3 are patrolled and maintained by high security. Those two levels are reserved for very dangerous super criminals," he said.

"Alexi, are you getting this?" Jeremy asked.

"Argit is telling the truth. The guards on those levels are armed with the latest guns and security mechs. Making an escape attempt or a break in impossible," Alexi said over the radio.

The alarms go off. "We got intruders on level B1. I repeat we got intruders on level B1," the tannoy announcer said.

"This is Warden Payton, to all guards in the area. Capture and arrest the intruders. No one breaks into St. Bastions and gets away," he said.

"Well, that didn't last long," I said.

"We need to get to level B2. Which is the best way to get there?" Jeremy asked.

"There's an elevator that goes up and down between the levels," Argit answered.

"They already sent guards to guard the elevator," I said.

"Well, that leaves us with one option," Len asked.

Len climbs over the rail and drops into the second level. We followed him to the level. We made our way over to Cell 60. "We made it," I said.

"Well, let's blow it up." Jeremy puts up C4 on the door. He places the electric charge, detonates it and the door is still standing. "Okay, what gives?" Jeremy asked.

"The doors are blast proof. The door is a foot thick and it has a electronic lock. Hold on, Len, have you got an EMP arrow? By using it, we can create a dead zone around the door," Argit said.

Len gets a EMP arrow out, sticks it in the door and the EMP blast shuts the lock down. We opened the door. "I can't believe it actually worked," he said.

"Albedo?" I asked.

"Who wants to know?" Albedo asked.

"It's your lucky day. We're here to get you out," I answered.

Albedo steps out of his cell as the guards surround us. "We got confirmation on the intruders. Len Cho and Michael Morningstar and some guy are breaking Albedo and Argit out of prison, over," a guard said on his radio.

"Roger, we got visual on our end," the control centre operator said.

"Not so tough, aren't you?" another guard said.

They aimed their guns at us. "Jeremy, bring Argit back with you. He's hired," Janet said over the radio.

"You might want to shield your eyes," I said. I used my new power to teleport us out of the prison. Leaving the guard perplexed and confused. Back at the Old Bellwood Penitentiary, we arrived at the prison.

"I can't believe it worked," Len said.

"It's going to take a while to master the Chaos Amulet's power. But now, I need a rest," I said.

"You earned it, now go and rest up." I head into a cell block and took a nap. "Now then, I'm going to off you both a deal. Work for me and you two will get a full pardon and your criminals will be expunged," Janet said.

"In return, we be doing what?" Argit asked.

"A series of assignments, but I'll get to that once our final recruit arrives," she answered.

"Speaking of that, we got the Universal Gate fully operational," Alexi said.

"Right, punch in the coordinates and we'll see if this'll pay off." Alexi keys in the coordinate and turns the Universal Gate on. A group of mercenaries walked through with a prisoner. "Did Providence and Special Projects give you any trouble?" she asked.

"We had a close with a Guardian. I think his name was Rex, but we evaded them. Here she is: Breach," the mercenary leader said.

He shows her Breach. "Excellent, the payment is already in your account. Look forward to doing business again in the future," she said.

The mercenaries walked back through the portal and Alexi powers it down. "Where am I?" Breach asked.

"On a parallel Earth, you do know what a parallel Earth is, don't you?" she asked.

"Van Kleiss once told me there're a number of parallel Earths. Each Earth is different and with a set of different possibilities," Breach answered.

"Correct, I'm offering you a deal. Work for me and I'll see to it you get a full pardon and your criminal expunged. I offered everyone the same deal, but there are some conditions. Jeremy," she said.

Jeremy inserts syringes into Albedo and Argit's arms. "Ow," they both said.

"What did you put into us?" Argit asked.

"Nanites, it's to make sure you lot stay in line," Jeremy said.

"It's brutal, I know," Len said.

"I knew it wouldn't work on you and Elena due to the fact your nanites can override those. Anyway, you might want to take a deep breath." She inserts a syringe into Breach's arm. "As for what I put in you. Well, you should start to feel the effects. It's something the lab boys came up. It's a cocktail containing nanites. It should remove any side effects your mutation has and your powers should remain," Janet said.

In a instant, Breach's extra arms began to disappear and it restored her to normal. "What did you do?" Breach asked.

"I gave your life back. You might want to try out your powers," she answered.

Breach opens a portal and she is ecstatic. "I don't believe it. I need a mirror." Janet gives her a mirror. Breach is amazed by what she looks like. "Not only did you give me a life back. But you also gave me my humanity back. You helped and I'll be happy to return the favour," Breach said.

She puts the mirror down. "I thought so, there's a set of clothes in the gym bag. I don't want you to go around in those rags." Breach picks up the bag, heads into a cell and gets changed. "As for the rest and the same goes to Breach, you earned the night off. Meet back here tomorrow morning and I'll brief you on your first official mission. Dismiss," she said.

We left the prison and called it a night. Morning came and we met up back at the prison. Len didn't feel so good. "What happened to you?" I asked.

Janet enters the prison. "He tried to leave town, but I triggered his nanites, I nearly caused his liver to go into overload," she answered.

"You can be one mean woman," Len said.

"I know, it's part of the job. Now that we're all here, let's get started. Your first mission as the Shadow Guard will be a snatch and bag job," she said.

"Snatch and bag?" Breach asked.

"What she means is we'll snatch the target and bag the target. Speaking of that, who's the target?" Len asked.

"I'm glad you asked. Your target is Winston Pearce, former CIA spook, business and a great information broker," she answered.

She places his file on the table. Argit picks it up and reads it. "Hmm, typical ex-CIA agent, has some shady dealings with a lot of dangerous characters and he's rich," he said.

"Why the sudden interest?" Len asked.

"Two weeks after the Dark God invasion incident. A call girl in Thailand accidentally picked up a thumb drive containing a lot of information. The thumb drive belonged to Winston. What she found on the thumb drive was more than she bargained for. Days later, she was found dead in a hotel room and the drive back in Winston's possession," she answered.

"Did the coroner determine the cause of death?" Elena asked.

"He did, but he was forced to doctor his report. Fortunately, I sent someone I know in to do the autopsy. The cause of death was cyanide poisoning, not a drug overdose as the media said," Alexi answered.

"What else do you know about the target? Or better yet, do you know what's on that thumb drive?" I asked.

"That's your mission. Your mission is to find and recover the thumb drive. If you have sufficient evidence to prove Winston is involved something bigger. Bring him here, I want to question him personally," Janet answered.

"So, we got the mission parameters, but we still don't know where he is or more importantly where he's heading," Albedo said.

"For the last several weeks, we've sent surveillance teams to monitor Winston's movements. Recently, we caught a break. As of now, he's flying to Miami to attend a conference. Also, he has a office there," Jeremy answered.

"It's apparent that the office should be bugged. Both Alexi and Elena can monitor all communications between Winston and the Miami branch of his company," she said.

"I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but I and Len are fugitives since we busted both Albedo and Argit out of prison," I said.

"Oh, I'll think of something. You'll have everything you need for this mission. Just come back in one piece. I don't want to spend millions of dollars recruiting another Shadow Guard. I only get the one team," she said.

We left Bellwood, boarded a plane and headed over to Miami. We arrived at the airfield and got out of the plane. "That's the last time I'm travelling onboard a plane with Argit," Len said.

"Hey, I wasn't the one complaining," Argit said.

"Can it, both of you. We successfully arrived in Miami without causing any trouble. Our contact here is." Their contact walks up to them. "What's the situation in Miami?" Jeremy asked.

"Winston arrived here a couple of days ago. He's been in and out of his apartment and office a few times. Nothing new, also two Plumbers have arrived for a vacation," he answered.

"Have you got ID's on those two Plumbers?" Jeremy asked.

"I took a picture of the couple and I'm waiting for brass to come through," he answered.

"All right, thanks. We better head over to the safe house," Jeremy said.

We head over to the safe house. Argit inspects the photos laid on the table. "Hmm, something's off, Winston has been back and forth from the apartment and his office. But it's the timing that's off. The journey between his apartment and the office block should take five minutes, not half an hour," Argit said.

"You're right. So where does he go between now and then?" Jeremy checks his emails and receives some new information. "We got ID's on those two Plumbers and you won't like it," Jeremy said.

He shows them a image of Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin. "You have got to be kidding me?" Len asked.

"No we're not," he answered.

"Forget this; we're aborting the mission now. It's too dangerous," Len said.

"I think we can handle two kids," Breach said.

"You don't get it, Gwen is the cousin to one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy," Albedo said.

"Not to mention that he's the leader of the Guardians. If we cause an incident, they'll catch on. This mission requires a lot of careful planning," Argit said.

"I agree, we need a workaround to solve this. Have we got access to blueprints of the apartment building and the office block?" I asked.

"Of course, it's on the table right next to the intel," he answered.

I picked up the blueprints and placed them somewhere on the table. "Hmm, there's a building opposite the office block. If we place one of us on that rooftop, we should get a good look of the surrounding area," I said.

"I can do that. Also, we're going to need someone on the ground to keep an eye on things," Len said.

"All right I and Jeremy can do that, observation has been taken care of. We need someone to make a bug and plant it in Winston's office," Argit said.

"Leave that to me, I'm going to need to find a way in without being detected," Albedo said.

"I can get you in and out before they suspect something," Breach said.

Okay, good, but we still need a distraction," I pointed out.

Elena takes a look at the blueprint to the office block. "I can hack into the computer system. Triggering a fire alarm in the server room," she said.

"They'll respond to the alarm, while Albedo and Breach plant the bug. We got a plan, let's get to work," Jeremy said. A day later, Argit and Jeremy are in a yellow Camaro, observing the entrance to the office block.

"I don't understand why you picked this car? It's a heap of junk," Argit said.

"What? You don't like being in an American classic. It's a great car. Len, how are we doing from up there?" Jeremy asked.

"I got a visual of your lot and the view from up here is fantastic," Len answered through the radio.

"Right, Michael?" he asked.

"The beachfront is covered and the hot dogs are delicious. Hold on, Gwen and Kevin are coming onto the beach. It's a good thing I'm wearing the Chaos Amulet. It can create effective disguises. I'll carry on observing things from the beach," I answered through the radio.

"Okay, folks, its show time. Elena, you're up," Jeremy said.

Elena is in a cafe, using her laptop to hack into the office's mainframe. "Okay, I'm bypassing the firewall. I'm in, they haven't detected me yet. I'm triggering the fire alarm in the server room. Got it," she said.

"Okay, Albedo, Breach, you're up. Get in there and plant that bug," Jeremy ordered through the radio.

Breach and Albedo entered the office through a portal. Albedo gets to work planting the bug. "The bug is planted. I just need to calibrate it and it should be good to go. Got it," Albedo said.

Back in the Camaro, Jeremy gets his cell phone out and rings Alexi up. "Alexi, are you getting the data?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes I am. The bug Albedo has designed is effective. We can listen in on all communication from in and out of the office block on every floor. Hold on, Winston is making a call to his assistant. I'll patch you through," Alexi said.

Alexi puts the call through and they listened in. "Hey Pete, I got a problem. I tore a muscle while I was out jogging last night and I can't make it today. Are we still on scheduled for the armoured truck delivery?" Winston asked.

"Yes we are. The truck should leave the depot within one hour," Pete answered.

"Good, give me a progress report as soon as it arrives," Winston said.

They hang up. Elena, Breach and Albedo got into the car. "So what's our next course of action?" Breach asked.

"Simple, we got a armoured truck to catch," Jeremy answered.

"Luckily, the bug Albedo placed traced the call Winston made to a depot in the industrial district," Elena said.

"Well then, let's going. Michael, Len, head back to the safe house. We got a heist to pull off," Jeremy said. We drove the Camaro over to the depot. The armoured truck leaves the depot.

"Ah man, the truck is leaving the depot. Floor it," Elena yelled.

Jeremy pushes the pedal hard and rams the Camaro into the truck. We got out of the car, Elena uses her powers to open the back door. Armed guards burst out of truck and opened fire. Argit opens fire on the guards, putting them to sleep. "That has got to be the shortest fire fight I've been in," Argit said.

Jeremy walks up to the driver side of the truck and holds the driver at gunpoint. "Don't even think about it." He inspects the driver's uniform. "Something tells me you don't work at that depot you lot left. You must work for a private contractor, Kry-Sec, man, Winston is really pulling out all of the stops to employ the world's top security company. How are we doing back there?" Jeremy yelled.

Albedo enters the truck, picks up a box and leaves the truck. "There were transporting something. But not anymore," he said.

"Let's get out of here before the cops show up," Jeremy said. They fled the scene before the cops show up. Sometime later at the safe house, Albedo picks the lock on the box and opens it up to find a hard drive.

"How about that. Those guys were actually transporting a hard drive," Albedo said.

"According to the truck's GPS I hacked. They were heading over to the train depot. The train was scheduled to leave the depot with the drive and the train was meant to head over to Boston, Massachusetts," Elena said.

"Does Winston have any connections in Boston?" I asked.

"He does have another home there, nothing more," Jeremy answered.

"It's going to take a day or so to hack into the hard drive. Maybe the contents on the drive should give us a clear indication about what Winston is up to," she said.

"Okay then, I think we're done in Miami. Let's head back to Bellwood and see where this goes," Jeremy said.


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Ante Up

Days later at the abandoned Old Bellwood Penitentiary, Elena has already gotten to work hacking the hard drive we recently stolen. Alexi monitors the bug for any phone calls or emails. Janet walks up to him. "You get paid for monitoring, not sleeping," Janet said.

"My apologies, there's one promising lead. Winston made a phone call to anonymous. You might want to hear this," Alexi said.

Alexi plays the audio file. "Hey, it's me. We got a situation. The hard drive you were expecting has got stolen. The Miami-Dade Police are investigating the matter, but the homing beacon I placed in the hard drive is offline," Winston said.

"We almost had a near miss with that thumb drive in Thailand. Fortunately, we taught the girl a lesson. Someone's onto us and we can't let them risk exposing the organisation. It's a good thing you backed everything up onto a spare drive," the mysterious voice said.

"Yeah I did. Since we can't risk transporting the hard drive through an armoured truck, let alone a boat, plane or train. We need to do this via courier. Can you send one of your guys to meet me in a neutral location?" Winston asked.

"I'll see what I can arrange," the voice said.

The audio file finishes. "Sometime later, Winston gets an email inviting him to a fundraiser in Boston, where the hard drive was supposed to go to. The fundraising event Winston has been invited is in honour of Garret Shay, the man who is running for governor in Massachusetts," Alexi said.

"I've heard of him. The man's got a nasty reputation for being a xenophobe, meaning he hates aliens. Not to mention he's opposing my brother's attempts to repeal the PKD," Janet said.

"The fundraiser is being held at the Museum of Fine Arts. My guess, that's where Winston will be meeting his contact," he said.

"I'll try and see if I can score the team some jobs and formal wear," Janet said.

Sometime later, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the fundraising event is in full swing as the party gets going. "Please welcome to the stage, the man running for governor, Garret Shay," the master of ceremonies said.

Garret walks on stage to a huge round of applause. "Thank you, thank you. What a fine way to host a fundraiser than Boston's very own Museum of Fine Arts. For the several years, this country like many around the world have witness a huge rise in super powered beings. My father, the late senator Dean Shay once opposed these beings for being uncontrollable and dangerous. But now, they're running amok across our streets. What does the government do about it? Nothing, so I said to myself one day, I need to carry on my father's legacy and do something about it. My campaign has been controversial, but it has gained me key supporters. Like my good friend and conservative broadcaster, Will Harangue," Garret said.

Garret welcomes Will to the stage and he then leaves. I watched from the bar as I disguised myself as a bartender. "If I hear one word out of that guy's mouth, I might as well puke," I said.

"Special Projects has had problems with both Garret and Will in the past. I better remind myself to find criminating evidence against them once this mission is over. Right now, we need to find Winston's contact," Janet said through the radio.

"Still, I can't believe these people are willing to support Garret," I said.

"What do you prefer, safety with a god or salvation from a heretic? It's your call. Argit, how's everything in the van?" Janet asked through the radio.

"We're good, Elena has already hacked the surveillance cameras in the surrounding area and in the museum. I got a visual on Mike and Albedo. I got to say, Albedo. That tux really does suit you," Argit answered through the radio.

"You may find this amusing, but I don't. Hold on, I see both Mike and Len," Albedo said through the radio.

"Yeah, I got visual on your lot. Still no sign of the Colonel or Elena and Breach. Hold on, here they come," Len said through the radio.

Jeremy, Elena and Breach enter the building and the press gather on them. Garret sees the commotion. "No way, the Col. Jeremy Springfield, the man who spent three years in al-Qaeda prison camp and memorised every dirty secret they have." He walks up to him. "I didn't know you were coming," Garret said.

"That's why they call it a surprise, Mr. Shay," Jeremy said.

"Call me Garret. So, are you here to contribute to my campaign?" he asked.

"I'm thinking about it. Following the Dark God and Diagon incidents, we can't let these people run amok. A registration act would be the best course of action to quell their numbers," Jeremy said.

"Oh I agree. Once I'm President, I'll make sure to introduce a registration act to make sure all super powered people register with the government," he said.

"Like I said, I'm thinking about it. For now, let's enjoy the party," Jeremy said.

They went their separate ways. In the van, Argit monitors the situation as he notices Winston arriving. "Hey guys, heads up. Winston has arrived. Act casually," Argit said.

"All right, thanks for the heads up," Jeremy said through the radio.

Back in the Museum, Albedo heads upstairs and spots Winston. "I got a visual on Winston and he's found his contact. Winston is talking to the contact and he's not happy. He says his employer is taking a huge risk coming here. Winston on the other hand says none of that matters. Hold on, Winston is giving the contact the spare drive and the contact is leaving the museum," Albedo said.

"Wait, you can lip-read?" Argit asked through the radio.

"Of course," he answered.

"Never mind, I got this. I got sleep dart should do it and the spare drive is all ours. Right, he's hit; sleeping and I got the spare drive. We're done here," Argit said. We left the museum at different times to avoid raising suspicion. Morning came and Elena manages to hack into the hard drive.

"Now we're getting somewhere. You've got to be kidding me. It's a courier drive," she said.

"A what?" Breach asked.

"It's a twenty first century bagman, the Russian mob uses this to transport blood money," she answered.

"What does the drive contain, cash or data?" Janet asked.

"Data actually, this drive contains operation reports for a clandestine organisation named the Sliders. The data is from the last six months, they were investigating the possibility of the Guardians posing a security threat," she answered.

"You would think that this is something the CIA would do," I said.

"Yeah, but something doesn't add up. There's an operation report here dated August 15th, regarding a matter in Thailand," Elena said.

"August 15th is the day when the call girl was murdered. Whoever these Sliders are, they need to be shut down and fast. Alexi, modify the spare drive to contain a homing beacon. I think it's time to find out who their leader is," Janet said.

Hours later, Janet met Winston at a local cafe. "Thanks for recovering the drive. My partner will be impressed," Winston said.

"Not at all, as for the thief. I'll keep an eye out," she said.

She gives him the spare drive. "Normally I would ask how you acquire it. But I wouldn't ask, given you and your brother share the same reputation," he said.

"Oh I agree," she said. Sometime later, a retired general walks up to the edge of the lake at his backyard. He sets up his fishing gear and I walk up to him.

"It's been a long time, Archie," I said.

"Mike, I don't know whether I should turn you in or say it's good to see you. How did you get out of prison?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is I'm safe," I answered.

"Fair enough, it's been years since I last you. I remember first meeting you at the market when you got lost when you were a kid and I and my wife found you and returned you to your parents. We became fast friends as you wanted to listen to this old man's war stories. What brings you here?" he asked.

"You used to be close to a lot of officials. Generals, brigadiers, admirals, politicians and a lot of CIA officials. Have you heard of a CIA agent named Winston Pearce?" I asked.

"I heard the name, Winston has a clean record. He nearly came close to destroying his career when botched up a mission in Yemen back in 1993, but he cleared that up. Also, not many agents trust him due to his association with a man named V.V. Argost," he answered.

"Who's V.V. Argost?" I asked.

"That's a real mystery. The man first appeared on the scene during the aftermath of the Second World War. Back then, Europe was a wreck and the economy there wasn't that great. All the sudden, V.V. Argost appears and he offers the British financial aid and resources. But on one condition, he wanted a few artefacts from the British Museum and he wanted the then curator to erase them from the museum's history. He complied of course," he answered.

"Understandable, but I don't see any wrong there. Maybe V.V. is a private collector," I said.

"That's what I thought when I first heard of him, but who wants a few artefacts erased from the museum's record. Anyway, V.V. resurfaces years later in the late 1950s. He provides our government with intel that Joe McCartney was going rogue, a psyche report into his state of mind and he offered to deal with the problem," he answered.

"Did he?" I asked.

"Oh he did and in a fashionable way. He made look like Joe died from a alcohol related disease. He was actually assassinated and there was a cover up," he answered.

"Joe McCartney was assassinated. How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"They told me back in the seventies. It was during the Vietnam War when they began to question V.V's allegiances. There were rumours flying around he was financing both our government and the North Vietnamese forces. It was during the aftermath of the Tet Offensive when I first met. I was sent by bosses to secure a key ally and V.V. was standing right behind him," he answered.

"That must've been something," I said.

"Oh it was. I knew this guy has seen it all. We only spoke once and he only told me his name and that's it. In the 1970s, his activity became less frequent; it was during that time he earned the wrath of the Israeli government. He financed the Palestine terrorists and provided them with resources that led to the Munich Olympic hostage crisis," Archie said.

"He did what?" I asked.

"He financed the whole operation. Days later, the Munich polices discovered a history museum was broken into. A few artefacts are stolen and their records wiped," he answered.

"So he used the hostage crisis as a distraction while he broke into the museum and stole the artefacts," I said.

"Exactly, it didn't take the Israelis long to figure out who financed them and issued a kill order for V.V. The government lost track of him during the eighties and nineties due to political change. May I ask why the sudden interest?" he asked.

"Nothing. Do you think its possible V.V. will resurface?" I asked.

"It's possible, due to the recent events. I must warn you, V.V. is a dangerous man. Do not underestimate him," he answered.

Sometime later, I was in Chinatown, having some noodles, contemplating about what Archie said. Elena sits next to me. "Is this seat taken?" she asks.

"Not at all." She sits next to me. "Did you manage to avoid detection?" I asked.

"Please, I'm a hacker and a shape shifter. My powers are virtually limitless, so to speak. You're taking your day off slowly. Mine was spent bringing Breach up to speed. Gwen warned me about you when we first met," she said.

"Did she now? No surprises there given my reputation," I said.

"Anyway, Janet just phoned me, she wants us back at the prison," she said.

We left the noodle stand and headed back to the prison. Sometime later at the prison, we arrived just in time for the debriefing. "What took you two so long?" Janet asked.

"The traffic on the way here is bad," Elena answered.

"Since everyone's here, the drive has been delivered, location unknown," Alexi said.

"What do you mean location unknown?" Len asked.

"Despite the beacon being working, the signal is weak. It makes finding where the drive has gone to, hard," he answered.

"Have you tried boosting the beacon's power?" Jeremy asked.

"Did, but it's no good," he answered.

"He's got the spare drive, while we have the original hard drive. Where does that leave us?" Len asked.

"Nowhere, but it does give us some leverage if Winston or his allies make a move on anyone else," Argit answered.

"He's right, until we know where the spare drive has been. We're not going anywhere. Has the bug in Winston's Miami office picked up anything new?" Janet asked.

"Some phone calls here and there, nothing serious. There's an email from a contact in Turkey requesting his presence. It says there's been a problem and he needs a second opinion," Alexi answered.

"Well then, let's find out what's in Turkey," she said. Days later, we traced the email to Istanbul. We met up a contact of Janet's. He waits for us at a bar.

"So the rumours are true, Janet did form a little band of villains to do the dirty work. I'm Gavin, I use to oversee the CIA operations in Turkey, but not anymore," he said.

"Is Winston here?" Jeremy asked.

"He is, but he's not alone. Someone's with, we tried to get an ID on his friend. But we couldn't find a match," Gavin said.

"It's got be V.V. Argost." The others then looked confused. "When we took our leave of absences the other day. I used the opportunity to learn a bit more about Winston. It turns out he's friends with a dangerous individual named V.V. Argost. This guy blackmails, kills in order to get the things he wants. If V.V. is here, then we should be on our guard," I said.

"How do you know all of this?" Elena asked.

"I've spoken to a friend of mine, Gen. Archie Graham. Has there been any events going on lately?" I asked.

"There's been a general election a day ago. Unfortunately, the winner isn't popular among voters. And there's a rally scheduled to be held outside the government building this afternoon," Gavin answered.

"Are there any museums holding any exhibitions about unusual or unexplained artefacts?" I asked.

"There is, at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. The main building is a hosting a exhibition dedicated to unexplained artefacts," he answered.

"We should split into teams. Len, Jeremy and Argit are with me. We'll take the museums. Elena, Albedo, Breach and you will head over to the government buildings and break the protests," I said.

We split up into teams. My team head to the museum, while the other team heads over to the government building. Inside the museum, V.V, Winston and their henchmen entered the museum. "Listen up and listen good. We don't have much time, let's grab the document, erase the records and get heck out of here before," Winston said.

We arrived on time. "Before you accomplish the task, very clever of you lot to use a historic event to distract everyone from the actual crime," I said.

"How is this possible? For years, we were careful not to blow our cover. How did you lot find me?" V.V. asked.

"It wasn't that hard once we put all of the pieces together. Walk away right now before this gets messy," Jeremy said.

"You two, get the boss out of here. I got this," Winston yelled.

A portal opens and the three of them walk through and it closes after they walked through. "So what now? Your boss is gone and you're standing there. If you're planning to surrender, now might be a good time to do it," I said.

Just like that, he surrenders without a fight. Hours later, Winston is tied to a chair as Janet enters the room. "I should've known you were involved. You maybe a government agent, but I had no idea you were that devious," he said.

"You should talk. Given that you and your friend nearly triggered a revolution," she said.

She places a newspaper on the table and Winston looks at it. "It was his idea. Start a event, use it a distraction and break into the museum to steal the artefact and make it look like it never existed," he said.

"About that, there's been a increase on guards in that museum since the break in. Interesting artefact, every known archaeologist and linguist tried to translate the parchment. Unfortunately, they weren't that successful," she said.

"V.V. said it's a record from a battle that was fought millions of years ago. Before mankind took its first steps. He's been doing this since the beginning of time," Winston said.

"Say that again?" Janet asked.

"He's immortal; he was born on a parallel Earth. Millions of years ago, his Earth was destroyed in a war between the Light Gods, Dark Gods, two other races and the Elder Ones. At the end of the war, he promised that the events of the ware shall not be repeated. He began a operation to cover up any traces of that war. Even if it meant blowing up a few temples," he answered.

"What about that murder of the call girl in Thailand? Was it to cover up an operation?" she asked.

"She'd stolen vital information regarding an upcoming operation. One that could save the entire universe," he answered.

"We'll see about that. I've uploaded every known operation from your office computer to a mutual friend. Eli," she said.

She steps aside as Eli walks up to him. "I use to call you friend and you're friends with one of the most dangerous individuals. How could you do that?" Eli asked.

"I never wanted to become friends with him. When I first joined the agency in 1974, the country was a mess. The Vietnam War had damaged the country's reputation and there were a lot of loose ends. The country wanted those loose ends tied up and my first assignment was to assist them in tying up those loose ends. It meant killing a lot of people. One of those loose ends was V.V Argost. He was in a lot of trouble due to his involvement with the Munich massacre," he said.

"Whoa, whoa, V.V. orchestrated the Munich crisis?" Eli asked.

"Financed actually, he financed the operation so he can 'acquire' a certain artefact. He fled to Vietnam to lay low until Mossad called off the search. My orders were to put a bullet in his head. But things didn't go to plan; there was a hostage crisis at the building where V.V. was hiding out. He saved my life; in return he needed some favours. At times, I did not agree to his methods, but once he showed there was more to the multiverse. It created more questions than answers. One such is: when will this end," he said.

"I heard enough. Even though we don't see eye to eye, but thank you. Get him out of here," Eli said.

His men release Winston, pick him and they leave with their prisoner. Eli leaves soon after. "For a minute, I thought you were going to hand us over to Special Projects," Len said.

"Please, I never give up potential resources," she said.

"So, does this mean it's over?" Breach asked.

"What do you think? It'll be over once we capture V.V. Argost. Did the raid on Winston's offices and homes turn up anything?" she asked.

"A lot, there's memos, messages and even diaries of everything Winston did. Winston is paranoid," Alexi said.

"Maybe, but it didn't seem that way when we spoke," she said.

"I had Elena analyse the hard drives from his computers and she discovered something interesting," he said.

"I discovered what Winston was doing in Thailand. He was assisting in a operation to recover key intel regarding this upcoming operation that the Sliders are planning. The intel they acquired was belonged to a former Special Projects agent name Gareth Mack," Elena said.

"His name has crossed my desk. He was one of Eli's top agents, until he went rogue and ended up dead in Thailand," Janet said.

"Also, that call girl who was murdered. She knew Gareth; the operation report for the Thailand operation gives a detailed account of the incident. It says the girl stole the drive and they pursued her," Elena answered.

"Those events must've led to her death. Anything else?" Janet said.

"Just one, Winston kept a flight plan for every operation he was involved. There's a flight plan that's repeats all over. He's been travelling to a castle in Prague," she answered.

"That must be where V.V. Argost usually hangs out. Pack your bags, we're heading to Prague," Janet said.

Days later, we arrived in Prague and took over an abandoned hotel. "Well, I never thought I would be back here much sooner. The last time I was here, I had to escape the Czech Republic mafia after assassinating their boss. Boy, I left the country with a lot of scars," Len said.

"Now it's different. There's a megalomaniac out there, planning some take over the multiverse scheme. This time, we'll make him pay," Janet said.

"It'll take a while to set up shop here. Hopefully, we should be operational within the next two hours," Alexi said.

"Good, let's get to work," she said.

I was in a cafe having a cup of coffee and having a conversation with the Amulet. "It sounds like you seen all of this before," I said.

"I have, time and space are unique. Throughout existence, there's a higher evil waiting to strike. The Elder Ones are no different," the Chaos Amulet said.

"Well, the Guardians defeated the Dark Gods. They'll defeat the Elder Ones," I said.

"It'll take more than a team of heroes to stop the Elder Ones. It'll take the unification of the multiverses in order to defeat them. I sense magic nearby, an Anodite is here. Her power is raw, but mastered," it said.

"Lovely Gwen." I picked up the amulet and put in my pocket as she sits opposite me. "It's been a long time," I said.

"I know it was you in Miami. It didn't take long for me to figure out you were involved in the heist. Plus, the place reaped of chaos magic. How did you acquire the Chaos Amulet? The amulet hasn't been seen for thirty years," Gwen said.

"It's complicated," I said.

"I know you. Nothing is ever complicated with you. There's always a hook and a line to one of your plans," she said.

"Do you think I'm still the bad guy here? The last few months changed everything. The Dark God Incident proved that not only we're not alone, but also there's a multiverse out there. Now, more heroes and villains are turning up by the dozens. And I want to be a part of that," I said.

"Please Michael. I'm begging you; give up the amulet before it consumes you. Don't make me call my brother in," she said.

"You mean the Sorcerer Mage, the amulet told me about its encounters with the mage. It's no surprise it told me about his secret identity. The truth is, I'm not looking for trouble, I'm looking for redemption," I said.

"Redemption huh? Normally, I would like to take you in, but since you haven't committed any offences in Prague. I'm letting you off with a warning. Mess this up and I'll come after you," she said.

She leaves the cafe, while I head back to the hotel. Inside, everyone was planning for the upcoming operation. "It's about time you got back, Mike. We need everyone if we're going to pull this one off," Janet said.

"There's a complication, Gwen is here and so is Kevin. She knows about our involvement in the Miami heist and there's no doubt she knows about our involvement in Istanbul," I said.

"What did you tell her?" Len asked.

"Nothing," I answered.

Len grabs his Desert Eagle out and points it at me. "What did you tell her?!" he yelled.

"Nothing and don't point that gun at my head," I answered.

"We're near the end of this mission. And now it's already compromised. How did she found out?" he asked.

"She was able to sense chaos magic. She knew that the amulet gave off a energy signature," I answered.

"We're compromised. If she can track chaos magic, who's to say V.V. can't," he said.

"First, put the gun down and second, Len's right. We've come too close to see it all collapse in front of us. You're off team until you can find a way to mask the energy signature. Otherwise, I have no choice but to terminate our agreement and hand you back to the authorities," she said.

"Too risky, I say we put a bullet in his head. Who's to say he can rat us out to every known criminal and terrorist organisation," he said.

"I'm not a traitor. I've been working with the amulet to control my newfound power," I said.

Len was to shoot me when Jeremy intervened and swiped the gun off him. "Screw this, I'm through with this," I said.

I left the hotel. "Mike, wait," Elena said.

"What now? Without a sorcerer, we can't continue," Jeremy said.

"This is where improvisation comes in. We got a plan, let's make it happen," she said.

Minutes later, the team arrives outside the castle. Jeremy gets his binoculars out and looks through them. "Well, here it is. V.V's summer residence, it's got every known security measure. The castle's got barbwire, electronic locks and a scanner. From the looks of it, it can scan both x-rays and gamma rays," Jeremy said.

"This could complicate things. It's obvious we're not going through the front door," Argit said.

"I checked the blueprints to the castle. The recent modifications were to the basement during the Second World War. There's a tunnel running from the basement to a cave under a nearby waterfall," Albedo said.

"Which way?" Albedo points west. "It looks like we're going for a trek. This have better be worth it," Janet said.

They trek through the forest and made it to the waterfall. They entered the cave and found the door. "Well, this is it," Albedo said.

"The advantage of having old blueprints. Good job, Albedo," Len said.

He opens the door and they entered the basement. Sometime later, they entered the wine cellar. Breach picks up a bottle of Dom Perignon. Jeremy takes it off her hands. "Dom Perignon champagne, 1969, very good year," Jeremy said.

"You might want to keep hold of that. It might be worth a fortune on eBay," Len said.

We entered into the castle and we found our way into the lounge. V.V. is standing there in front of the fireplace.

"For someone, who has made millions through blackmail and deception. You're not exactly type to fight," Janet said.

"You're right, but I usually get others to do the fighting for me. Isn't that right, Len?" V.V. asked.

Len points his gun at the team as V.V's guards enter the room and surround the group. "You little backstabbing sell-out," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Gambit

The group was shocked to learn that Len betrayed the group over to V.V. "You sold us out, Len. Why?" Jeremy asked.

"It's complicated. I fulfilled my side of the bargain, now it's your turn to do fulfil yours," Len said.

"Agreed, I'll release your son," V.V. said.

"Your son?" Janet asked.

"Look, the reason why I do things like assassinating people or pulling off jobs is to pay for my son's medical care. He has cerebral palsy. His mother committed suicide not that long ago because she couldn't cope with the responsibility of caring for him," he answered.

"You should've told me. I could've arranged for him to be taken into care," she said.

"I know you; you would've used his condition as an opportunity to blackmail me further. V.V. came to me after the Miami job. He said he can offer a way out. Not only could he pay for the medical care, but also help me clear my other debts," he said.

"It's all true," V.V. said.

"You'll pay for your treachery, Len. I'll make you suffer," Janet said.

"Take them to the dungeon," V.V. ordered

The guards take them to the dungeon. "So we're square?" Len asked.

"Yeah, we're square. Your son is being flown to the U.S. as we speak. He'll be arriving there shortly," he answered.

"Thanks," Len said.

"You'll find the rest of your payment in the foyer," he said.

Len leaves the room and heads down to the foyer. In the dungeon, the guards drag the team into the cells where they were intercepted by me. I defeated the guards and removed the cuffs. "Mike?" Albedo asked.

"Who else," I replied.

"How did you know where we were?" Breach asked.

"Oh I knew and trust me. It's all part of the plan," I answered.

"Plan?" Janet asked.

We made our way back upstairs. "Len told me about his situation. So I offered to help," I said.

"You mean to tell us that you and Len staged that confrontation back at the hotel?" Jeremy asked.

"Pretty much, I knew getting the whole team involved would go either way. So, I headed over to the airport and I rescued Len's son. With a little help from Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin," I answered.

"Why didn't you two mention any of this?" Janet asked.

"Len doesn't trust you," I answered.

"Why am I not surprised." We made our way into the courtyard and took out the guards. Janet notices the limo parked there in the centre. "Albedo, commandeer the limo. We don't have to spill any more blood," she said.

Albedo gets into the driver side of the limo. We left the castle minutes before Len and V.V. got into the limo. "Take us to the airport, will you?" V.V. asked.

"No problem, sir," Albedo said in a Czech accent.

Albedo starts the limo and begins to drive. "It's a shame about Winston. He knew the risks about our operation, but we succeeded. The Shadow Guard is no more and we won't have to worry about anyone else pursuing us," he said.

"What about Special Projects? You do know that Eli isn't a fool," Len said.

"Special Projects have got their own problems. For now, let's worry about the present." V.V. gets a bottle of wine out, opens it and pours out two glasses. "Let's celebrate," he said.

"You go on ahead. I need a clear mind," Len said.

"Fair enough." He drinks the wine and begins to feel dizzy. "What was in that wine?" he asked.

He then falls into a deep sleep. Days later, V.V. wakes up to find himself in a prison cell. Janet stands there on the outside. "You may've thought you got away with it. But you're sadly mistaken," she said.

"I've been played. I took every precaution for the last million years," he said.

"Well, those precautions cost you in the long run. We found a lot of interesting evidence in that castle. As we speak, my team is raiding several more of your homes," she said.

"What do you want?" he asked

"Oh nothing. What I would like to know is why you murdered that girl in Thailand and what information did Gareth had you wanted so bad?" she asked.

"Given that I have no choice. Gareth had information regarding a set of coordinates to a parallel earth. The coordinates lead to a recently created parallel earth," he answered.

"Oh, what was it you intended to do?" she asked.

"I was there, after the creation of time and space. The five big races were engaging in a war for all eternity. The four won of course, which led to the Elder Ones being imprisoned. I watched the horrors of the war as my world was consumed and destroyed. I met one of the races. Before he died, he said that this war should never happen. I made him a promise to prevent history repeating itself. Within that instance, I was granted the gift of immortality. Throughout history, I've made sure that no one knew about the war by covering up the truth. Then something happened that should not," he answered.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"A physicist named Alonso Juarez discovered the means to travel between multiverses, parallel earths and timelines. In time, he learned of my operation and I sent my men to eliminate him. But he was a few steps ahead of everyone. Back to the earlier subject about my interest in this recently created parallel earth. I knew the Elder Ones would return one day. So I've been devising a plan to save everyone on this planet. The thumb drive the girl had stolen contained blueprints to a device we were working on. It's not too late if you let me out," he said.

"I don't think so. The Sliders have been shut down and your reign of terror has ended," she said.

"Who do think will save the entire multiverse? The Guardians? They're just a bunch of misguided fools who were brought together during an event," he said.

"I'd be careful who you say that to. Many people look up to them. But something tells me you have trust issues. Enjoy the long stay," she said.

Janet leaves the prison. "You can't do this. The Guardians can't be trusted. I've seen the future and they will be betrayed," V.V. said.

Sometime later at the Old Bellwood Penitentiary, Elena analyses the thumb drive the team recovered. Janet walks up to her. "I've spent most of this morning analysing the thumb drive. And I think I've pieced together what it is. It's a mass teleporter," Elena said.

"A what?" Janet asked.

"How should I explain? Your standard teleporter comprises of a pad, various circuitry and a control unit. But what this device is it generates a field engulfing the entire planet and teleporting everyone, including the buildings to a different location. In this case, a new planet as such," she answered.

"So, V.V. was planning a mass evacuation while he let the Elder Ones fight it out on this planet. His method of saving everyone is crude, but it doesn't solve the problem. Have you forwarded the data to my brother?" Janet asked.

"I have, he's already called in Trent Mason and Blake Roth to analyse all of the hard drives confiscated from V.V's various homes," she answered.

"This is just beginning and the worst is yet to come," Janet said.

Somewhere on Ledger Domain, Charmcaster was in the garden of the palace, inspecting the flowers when the captain of the guard runs up to her. "My lady, we got a situation," he said.

"What is it?" Charmcaster asked.

"Several creatures have been spotted outside the castle and they're not the natives," he answered.

They left the garden and head up the tower. She takes a closer. "They're not the natives. They look like, oh no, it's the X'Andi," she said.

"The X'Andi?" the guard asked.

"They're a reptilian race from the Lanning Cluster. They're not much of a problem," she answered.

She then senses something. "What is it, my lady?" he asked.

Portals began to open up everywhere on Ledger Domain and a invasion force begins to invade. "Sound the alarms. Begin evacuating refugees to Earth. They must be warned," she said.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'll hold them off. There's no time to argue. GO!" she yelled.

She picks up a sword and heads her way into the courtyard. Hours passed and Ledger Domain turned from the paradise to a dimension of war and ash. Charmcaster fights a X'Andi and android army with her best guards beside her. The android general engages her in a duel.

"Give up this fight. It is pointless," it said.

"Nay, machine," she said.

"I have a name. I am Deviation and I am my master's will," it answered.

"Who is your master?" she asked.

Eon then arrives on the battlefield. "I am," he answered.

She is shocked to see him and scared. "You? But how?" she asked.

She engages him in a fight and Eon wins. "This battle was won the minute you drew your sword. It's a pity that I have to waste a beautiful life and a pretty face. You remind me of my late wife. Now I must kill you," he said.

Eon punches her through the chest and throws her onto the ground. A lone guard picks her up and carries her to a nearby portal.

Deviation notices this. "Should I go after them?" it asked.

"It doesn't matter. Raid the treasure room, they have something I need," Eon said.

The End?


End file.
